William allen miller



'(No Model.)

W. A. MILLER.

INK WELL.

No. 444,365. I I Patented Jan.6,1891'.

WITNESSES IIVI/E/VIOR 7 76:6 Arm/mug? UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAH ALLEN MILLER, OF. NET/V YORK, N. Y.

'lNK-WELL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 444,365, dated January 6, 1891.

Application filed July 17, 1890. Serial No. 359.002. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM ALLEN MIL- LER, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in InklVells; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention belongs to that class of inventions designated as inkstands, and relates, especially, to the means for closing the ink-bottle so as to exclude dust and prevent evaporation of the ink.

The invention aims to improve that class of inkstands which are chiefly designed for school desks or tables, and which are constructed to be letinto an opening out therein. However, with slight changes it is equally applicable to portable inkstands.

The improvement consists of the novel fea tnres which hereinafter will be more fully described and claimed, and which are shown in the annexed drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective View of an inkstand embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical central section of the inkstand, showing its relation to the desk or table. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the cap for the frame or support of the bottle, the cover being drawn out. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the spring which presses the bottle up against the cover.

The frame or support A for the bottle 0 is constructed to correspond with the size and shape of the bottle, being shown cylindrical, as this is the most common and convenient form of construction. The top of the frame is open and is internally threaded to receive the threaded flange d of the cap D, and the bottom is provided with the inner flange e. The spring F is conical-shaped and its base portion rests on the flange e and its apex presses up 011 the center of the bottle 0. The cap D, screwed onto the frame A, has opening I) to permit the protrusion therethrough of the neck of the bottle, and is provided with guides h h, which receive the sliding cover H. .These guides may be raised, but it is preferred to mill or recess the cap the thickness of the cover, so that the cover will come flush withthe top of. the cap. The opening Z) is provided with notches 'i t at diametrically-opposite points and in line with the direction of motion of the cover to receive the stop j, depending from the forward end of the cover, thereby preventing interference of the said stop with the neck of the bottle. The neck of the bottle is sufficiently long to project abovethe top of the cap. Hence to operate the cover it is necessary that the bottle be depressed sufficiently far so that the top of the neck portion will come below the stop j on the cover. To depress the bottle, openings m are provided in the cap, through which a pencil, pen-holder, or other suitable instrument can be inserted to press down on the shoulder of the bottle. These openings m also serve to receive the prongs of a pin-wrench or other tool when screwing or uscrewing the cap.

The frame or support being circular and the opening in the desk or table to receive the frame being of corresponding shape, it is necessary to provide the frame with projections n, which enter the sides of the opening in the desk or table and prevent the frame from turning while screwing or unscrewing the cap.

To secure a close joint between the top of the bottle and the cover, the top of the bottle is ground, and abrasion of the cover by the glass is prevented by the stop on the cover, which requires the bottle to be depressed when moving the cover. The bottom of the frame may be closed; but for economy of construction it is left open, and the spring may be supported in any other manner than on the flange c.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

1. In an inkstand, the combination, with the frame having a cap at its upper end, and the bottle having its neck projected through an opening in the cap, of a spring supported at its lower end by the frame and having its upper end pressing up on the bottle and the cover for closing the bottle, having a stop or portion projected within the plane of the neck of the bottle to engage therewith and lock the cover in either an open or closed position, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the framehaving a cap, and having an opening in the cap and notches in the sides of the said opening, and the bottle having its neck projected up through the said opening, of the spring for pressing the bottle up and the cover for closing the opening in the cap, having a ,stop which projects within the plane of the neck of the bottle to limit the movement of the cover in each direction, the said stop entering one or the other of the said notches when at the limit of its movement in one direction, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the frame, the bottle, and the spring for pressing the bottle up, of the cap having an opening through which the neck of the bottle is projected, and the cover having a stop which projects Within the plane of the neck of the bottle and adapted to close the said opening in the cap, the said cap having an opening for the insertion of an instrument for pressing down on the bottle out of the path of the stop on the said cover, substantially as described.

4. An inkstand comprising a frame having an inner flange e, a conical spring placed on the said flange, the bottle supported on the spring, the cap having openings m m and b, and having notches i in the edges of opening I), screwed on the frame, and cover H, sliding in ways on the cap and having stop j, which is adapted to enter the notches i, and which projects within the plane of the neck of the bottle, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WM. ALLEN MILLER.

Witnesses:

SOUTHRICK HEBBERD, WM. M. CHRISTIE. 

